With the start of the new year, it’s likely there will be an increased flow of arbitration agreements. We’ll keep tabs on the day’s relatively minor arbitration agreements in this post. As always, all arbitration projections are via MLBTR and contributor Matt Swartz.
- Righty Zach McAllister has agreed to a $1.3MM salary with the Indians, Jon Heyman reports on Twitter. That represents a nice bump up over the $1MM he had been projected for. The first-time-eligible, 28-year-old hurler has put up much greater innings totals in previous seasons than he did last year, when he transitioned full-time to the pen. That could be a cause for the increased earnings. Of course, the move to a relief role proved rather fruitful for all involved, as he turned in a 3.00 ERA with 11.0 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9 in his 69 frames.
- The Rockies have agreed to avoid arbitration with righty Jordan Lyles, as Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports previously reported.* He’ll receive a $2.975MM deal for the 2016 season, which comes in slightly above his $2.8MM projection. The small raise isn’t a surprise given that Lyles only threw 49 frames in ten starts in the 2015 campaign. The righty, who only just turned 25, had something of a breakout season in 2014, when he put up a 4.33 ERA in 126 2/3 innings. While he notched only 6.4 K/9, with a 3.3 BB/9 walk rate, Lyles was able to induce grounders on better than fifty percent of the balls put in play against him. And that earned run mark means more for a Colorado-based pitcher, of course. But ERA estimators viewed Lyles as a low-4.00 ERA contributor even in 2014. And the time missed remains somewhat concerning, although the injuries that caused it — a fractured hand and toe ligament tear — may not be indicative of his durability going forward.
*Editor’s Note: this arbitration agreement was mistakenly re-posted after previously being reported.
